CHAPTER X.
JOKES AND CROAKS.
"I'm beginning to feel that we shall issue happily out of all ourtroubles," cried Judy Kean, bursting into her friends' room withoutknocking, "and the reason why I feel that way is because when I amclothed in silk attire my soul is clothed in joy. Especially whenthere's dancing to follow. Button me up, someone, please, so that I maytake a good look at my resplendent form in your mirror. I can't see morethan a square inch of neck in my own two by four."
The girls stood back to admire their friend, who indulged her artisticfancy in rather theatrical clothes much too old for her, but who usuallysucceeded in gaining the effect she sought.
"Dear me, 'she walks in beauty like the night,'" said Molly laughing."You look like a charming and very youthful widow-lady, Judy, but howcomes it you are wearing black?"
"Black is for certain types," replied Judy sagely, "and I am one ofthem. Next to black my bilious skin takes on a dazzling, creamy tint andmy mouse-colored hair assumes a yellow glint that is not its own."
The girls laughed at their erratic friend, who was, indeed, dressed inblack chiffon, from the fluffy folds of which her vivacious young faceglowed like a flower.
"If you object to me, wait until you see Jessie," cried Judy. "She mightbe going to the opera, she is so fine. She is wearing pink satin thatglistens all over like a Christmas tree with little shiny things."
As a matter of fact, Nance, whose well balanced and correct tastes inmost things rarely failed her, was the most suitably dressed of ourgirls, in her pretty white lingerie frock.
At eight o'clock that evening Molly rolled away luxuriously in a villagehack with Mary Stewart, holding her roses tenderly and carefully underher gray eiderdown cape, so as not to crush them.
"I'm awfully glad I was so lucky as to draw you this evening, Molly,"the older girl was saying.
"I'm the lucky one," answered Molly, her thoughts reverting to thestrange discovery of the morning. "Oh, Miss Stewart, what did FrancesAndrews do last year to get herself into such a mess and be frozen outby all her class this year?"
"I'll tell you perhaps some day, but not to-night. We want to enjoyourselves to-night. Can you guide, Molly?"
"Like a streak. I always guided at home at the school dances, because Iwas the tallest girl in my class."
"I'm a guider, too," laughed Mary, "and when two guiders come together,I imagine it's a good deal like a tug of war."
During the ride over to the gymnasium, neither of the girls mentionedthe thing uppermost in their minds: the attempt to set the gymnasium onfire that night. Nor was the rumor referred to by anyone at the dancelater. It was a strictly forbidden topic, the President herself havingissued orders.
The great room was a mass of foliage and bunting, Japanese lanterns andincandescent lights in many colors, and it was really quite a brilliantaffair according to Molly's notions, who had never seen anything butsmall country dances usually given at the schoolhouse several milesfrom her home. Lovely music floated from behind a screen of palms andlovely girls floated on the floor in couples, to the strains of thelatest waltz.
"I'm afraid I'm going to be an awful wallflower," thought Molly, feelingsuddenly overgrown and awkward in the midst of this swirling mass ofgrace and beauty. "I can't help feeling queer and I don't seem torecognize anybody."
But Molly had plenty of partners that evening, and after that firstdelightful waltz, it was nearly an hour before she caught a glimpse ofMary Stewart again in the crowd of dancers.
"Isn't it jolly?" called Judy, as they dashed past each other in aromping barn dance.
"I never thought I could have such a good time at a manless party,"Jessie Lynch confided to Molly while they rested against the wall later."But, really, it's quite as good fun."
"Isn't it?" replied Molly. "I think I never had a better time in mylife. But I'm afraid our roommates and friends are not enjoying it verymuch," she added ruefully, pointing to the gallery, where seated in asilent bored row were Margaret Wakefield, Nance Oldham and MabelHinton.
"Of course," said Jessie, "you would never expect Mabel to join this madthrong, but I'm surprised at Nance and Margaret."
"Margaret prefers conversation parties, I suppose, and Nance is not fondof dancing, either. She would always rather look on, she says."
The two girls were standing near the musicians and from the other sideof the screen of palms they now heard a voice say:
"Have you danced with the fantastic Empress Josephine as yet?"
"Not as yet," came the answer with a laugh. "But be careful, she isnear----"
Molly moved away hastily, her face crimson.
Jessie had heard the question also and recognized the voice of JudithBlount.
"Why, Molly," she exclaimed, glancing at her face, "you don't think theymeant----"
"Yes," said Molly, trying to smile naturally, "I do."
She glanced down at her home-made dress. Perhaps it did look amateurish.She and Nance had worked very hard over it, but, after all, they werenot experienced dressmakers.
"Why, you look perfectly charming," went on Jessie generously. "Thecolor is exactly right for you----"
"Yes, color," answered Molly, "but there ought to be something besidescolor to a dress, you know. Never mind, I shouldn't be such a sensitiveplant, Jessie. One ought not to mind being called fantastic. It's notnearly so bad as being called--well, malicious--cruel. I'd rather befantastic than any of those things. But I did think the dress was prettywhen we made it."
"Come along, and let's get some lemonade, Molly. Your dress is sweet andsuits you exactly, so there."
Then someone came up and claimed Jessie for the next dance, but Mollywas grateful to the pretty butterfly creature for her assurances and sheresolved to forget all about her dress. As she lingered in the corner,uncertain whether to stay where she was or join her friends in thegallery, Mary Stewart made her way through the crowd and called:
"Oh, here you are. Some of the seniors are just outside and want to meetyou. Will you come?"
"I should think I would," replied Molly, joyfully. Fantastic, or not,she had one good friend among the older girls.
"This is Miss Molly Brown of Kentucky," announced Mary Stewart presentlyto a dozen august seniors who shook her hand and began asking herquestions.
"We had two reasons for wanting to meet you, Miss Brown," here put in avery handsome big girl, who spoke in an authoritative tone, which madeeverybody stop and listen. (She was, in fact, the President of thesenior class.) "One of course was just to make your acquaintance, andthe other was to ask if you would do us a favor. We are going to have aliving picture show Friday week for the benefit of the Students' Fund,and we wondered if you would pose in one of the pictures, maybe several,we haven't decided on them yet. But that dress must be in one of them,don't you think so, Mary? One of Romney's Lady Hamilton picturesfor instance, with a white gauze fichu; or a Sir Thomas Lawrenceportrait----"
"You don't think it's too fantastic?" asked Molly.
"What, that lovely blue thing? Heavens, no! it's charming----"
Molly had barely time to thank her and accept the invitation, when sheand Mary were dragged off to make up the big circle of "right and leftall around," which wound up the dance. After this whirling romp, threeloud raps were heard and gradually the noise of talking and laughtersubsided into absolute silence. A girl had mounted the platform. Shecarried a megaphone in one hand and a book in the other. She was theofficial reader of her class, and now proceeded to recite through themegaphone all the best and most amusing material from "Jokes & Croaks."According to time honored custom, the jokes were greeted with applauseand laughter, and the croaks with groans and laughter, and anybody whogroaned at a joke or applauded a croak, if she happened to be caught,was publicly humiliated by being made to stand up and face the jeers ofthe multitude. The girls finally decided, after many ludicrous mistakes,that the jokes were on the sophomores and the croaks were on thefreshmen. For instance, here was a croak:
"A lady of notable luck, Who cared not for turkey or duck, Cried, 'Give me old ham And I don't give a slam, If it comes from Vermont or Kaintuck.'"
This was greeted with laughing groans, and Molly for the first timerealized the significance of her roommate's name.
Margaret Wakefield figured in several croaks, as "the Suffragette ofQueen's." In fact Queen's girls came in for a good many croaks and beganto wait fearfully for what was to come next. But the witticisms were allquite good-natured, even the last, which called forth so many merrygroans that they soon ceased to be groans at all and became uproariouslaughter, and Molly, very red and laughing, too, was the centre of alleyes. This was the croak:
"They have locked me in the Cloisters, They have fastened up the gate! Oh, let me out; Oh, let me out. It's getting very late.
'Tis said the ghosts of classes gone Do wander here at night. Oh, let me out; Oh, let me out, Before I die of fright!
And then there rang a clarion voice. It's tone was loud and clear. 'Oh, dry your eyes and cease your cries, For help, I ween, is near.
But promise me one little thing Before I ope the gate: Oh, never pass the coffee tray, If I am sitting nigh; Or, if you pass the coffee tray, Oh, then, just pass me by!'"
It was all very jolly and delightful, and for the first time the girlsfelt that they were really a part of the college life.
Mary Stewart was very sweet to Molly when she took her home that night,and the young freshman never realized until long afterwards, when shewas a senior herself, what a nice thing her friend had done; forsophomore-freshman receptions were an old story to Mary Stewart.